Baby Massage

Hi Everyone!I have been a member of this site for quite a while but this is my first post!. I have found it so useful both during my pregnency and since my little girl was born - I had her on 30th December by planned C-section so she is 12 1/2 weeks old - how the time has flown!!. I have put my name on a local waiting list to attend Baby Massage classes but I think that the wait will be quite long! I was wondering if anybody already attends a class or massages their baby at home and could advise me on what the best oil/lotion is to use. Thanks very muchDebbie

I did the baby massage class at our local surestart centre and it was ACE!!! can't recommend it enough. william loves it and it is now part of our bedtime routine. helped him start sleeping through as well. it was a 5 week course and from week 2 you could really see a difference in him. DO IT!!!! can't recommend it enough!

forgot to say use Johnson's bedtime lotion - it's great. we have a bath, have massage with bedtime lotion (don't be tempted by cheaper ones cos they suck) and then a bottle and he sleeps 12hrs no probs

Thank you so much for your replys. My LO has suffered badly with very dry skin on her head and face - she would constanly rub her face back and forth on our clothes when she was being held as it was itching her so much. I tried all of the lotions suggested by friends and family but nothing worked so in the end I took her to the doctors who prescribed Aveeno cream - it worked almost over night which was great. The doctor also said to bath her only twice a week and in plain water and this also helped. She now seems so much better so I have started to bath her every other night now and I going to start using bubble bath again - will give the Johnsons Bath time a go thank you.She loves her bath time bless her. I think that her skin will now be able to cope with being massaged.Thank you for the warm welcome - seems funny posting after just 'lurking' for so long! I have found the answer to just about every question/worry I have had since I found out I was pregnant. It's been lovely following everyones story and seeing birth announcements appear.Can't wait to start the massage classes and I know that my LO will love it too. Everyone seems to have positive things to say about it which is great.Thank you again for your replys - I will post in Baby too as suggested - as you said there will be lots of experienced mummys and daddys there!!.Debbie

Our local GPs has a lady who runs baby massage classes, but she came out to us to do 3 sessions on a 1-to-1 basis. I'm not sure how we were able to ahve that - I know she popped over initially on a recomendation from our Health Visitor because Bethan had colic and she could show us some ways to ease it, and she offered to come back to teach us baby massage once she got to 8 weeks old.

Basic rule (before looking at strokes or anything) was to go with baby. If baby gets restless or agitated, stop. They have to be happy and content.

We use the bedtime lotion too, but she recommended olive oil, or even sunflower oil as it doesn't soak in as quickly and makes your hand move more smoothly. We do it as part of her bedtime routine - although we're not lucky enough to get 12 hour straight sleeping! lol

Hi im gatecrashing from born in august.I started baby massage last week. The best oil to use is organic cold pressed vegetable oil. We are using extra virgin olive oil mixed with sunflower oil. You could also use rape seed oil etc. Scented oils are not recommended as babies recognise lots of things by smell so you dont want to mask that. Also cold pressed vegetable oils absorb into the skin better and because they are edible will not do any harm to baby and contain lots of good vitamins for the skin.Synthetic oils are not recommended either as they wont absorb and leave a greasy residue on the skin and may cause a reaction.Hope that helps